[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 111 (Wednesday, July 22, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H8497-H8498]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      H.R. 1503 IS A SHAMEFUL PLOY TO STIR UP FEAR AND DISSENSION

  (Mr. PASCRELL asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 1503, 
the so-called ``Birther Bill.'' You ought to read it.
  H.R. 1503 is predicated on the vicious and false rumor that 
circulates among fringe elements of our society that Barack Obama is 
not a citizen of the United States and his Presidency is, therefore, 
illegitimate.
  I bring you a copy--and I hold it up--of his birth certificate which 
has been authenticated in the State of Hawaii by the Department of 
Health, and I also hold up an announcement in the newspaper on August 
14.
  Yet, despite being proved categorically untrue time and time again, 
this rumor stays alive because of tacit acknowledgment embodied in this 
legislation from legislators in this room. Anything to bring the 
messenger down.
  These rumors hurt America. They hurt the strength of our country. The 
fact that some Members of the minority would embrace this hateful 
rhetoric stuns me.

[[Page H8498]]

  These allegations have no grounding in fact, and this bill is nothing 
more than a shameful ploy to stir fear and dissension in the minds of 
the American people.

                          ____________________